Reflection on journal article"Standardized testing and school segregation...."

Elizabeth Cox's reflection on the journal article:

"Standardized testing and school segregation: 
Like tinder for fire?"

By Matthew Knoester and Wayne Au 

Citation:

Knoester, M., & Au, W. (2017). Standardized testing and school segregation: 
         Like tinder for fire? Race Ethnicity and Education, 20(1), 1–14.

                                                                 Reflection

            This article explores the relationship between high-stakes standardized testing and segregation of students by race or class in the U.S. education system. High-stakes standardized testing has become increasingly important in U.S. pedagogical approaches; at the same time, school re-segregation has gained ground in recent decades. Authors Knoester and Au posit that the outcome of high-stakes standardized testing combined with school choice practices has resulted in a system for racial coding that exacerbates segregation and inequities existing in our schools (Knoester & Au, 2017).

            Scholars who study high-stakes standardized testing have pointed to negative outcomes associated with the practice. Problems include curriculums tailored to tested subjects and the pressure put on schools and instructors to focus efforts on “bubble kids”- a practice that disadvantages other students. Design of the high-stakes standardized tests is skewed by lack of open discussion when deciding test content and the margin of sampling error inherent in short tests (Knoester & Au, 2017).

            The authors survey the history of segregation in schools and the flaws in desegregation plans that emerged from Brown v. Board of Education. As desegregation plans have been abandoned over time, de facto re-segregation has germinated and grown. In decades since the ruling by the Supreme Court that ‘separate educational facilities are inherently unequal’, studies have documented the positive effects yielded by desegregation. Desegregation benefits nonwhite and poor students without decreasing white and affluent student achievement. Integration mediates racial stereotyping by fostering cross-racial communication and respect. The psychological rewards intrinsic in integration are evident as feelings of alienation are assuaged in integrated school environments. The democratic ideals ingrained in U.S. public education align with integration praxes (Knoester & Au, 2017).

White resistance to desegregation has created hurdles and detours in the process of integration across the board. In many ways, Brown v. Board of Education was poorly implemented using flawed approaches. In some southern locales, black teachers lost their jobs (over 38,000), black community schools were shut down, and black students were treated poorly in multiracial schools that were created post Brown v Board. The injustices of early desegregation were manifold (Knoester & Au, 2017).

Knoester and Au point to use of standardized tests as ‘powerful managerial tools’ that supports racial coding. Racism has been evidenced in testing systems throughout U.S. history. Mental testing was used to justify the eugenics movement in the early 20^th century. In 1917, the Army implemented Alpha and Beta Army tests to sort recruits. This testing approach was used to promulgate the theory that intelligence of immigrants could be assessed in relation to their country of origin. Stanford-Binet intelligence tests were flawed and mirrored social class bias. Standardized intelligence tests were adopted as a means of sorting students by race and class. IQ test results have been tools of institutionalized self-fulfilling prophesy disguised as ‘scientific’ measure (Knoester & Au, 2017).

The authors apply Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a framework for explaining the mechanics of racism in schools. In addition, CRT explains how the relationship between race and legal property rights underpins racism in America. Race-neutral laws actually obfuscate inequalities – promulgating the ideology of meritocracy (Knoester & Au, 2017).

In my opinion, the future of the perspective presented in this article regarding standardized testing lies in further research and discussion on a national level. A re-evaluation of the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative is critical to the future of education in the U.S. New forms of assessment must be designed and developed to evaluate learning in our schools while reflecting respect for student diversity. Individual students learn in a variety of ways expressing a variety of aptitudes.

This article has made me aware of specific research and scholarly evaluation that highlights the injustice and inefficacy of high-stakes standardized testing. I am also aware of the monumental difficulty involved in efforts to undo this testing system rooted in historically supremacist methods of marginalizing populations. I propose a ‘No Child Codified’ initiative to reset our educational goals to a healthy paradigm. Who will captain the cause of educational reform to deliver unbiased education that is the foundation of an enlightened society?